3 This
document describes the options provided by Coccinelle. The options
4 have an impact on various phases of the semantic patch application
8 \item Selecting and parsing the semantic patch.
9 \item Selecting and parsing the C code.
10 \item Application of the semantic patch to the C code.
12 \item Generation of the result.
16 One can either initiate the complete process from step
1, or
17 to perform step
1 or step
2 individually.
19 Coccinelle has quite a lot of options. The most common usages are as
20 follows, for a semantic match
{\tt foo.cocci
}, a C file
{\tt foo.c
}, and a
21 directory
{\tt foodir
}:
24 \item {\tt spatch -parse
\_cocci foo.cocci
}: Check that the semantic patch
25 is syntactically correct.
26 \item {\tt spatch -parse
\_c foo.c
}: Check that the C file
27 is syntactically correct. The Coccinelle C parser tries to recover
28 during the parsing process, so if one function does not parse, it will
29 start up again with the next one. Thus, a parse error is often not a
30 cause for concern, unless it occurs in a function that is relevant to the
32 \item {\tt spatch -sp
\_file foo.cocci foo.c
}: Apply the semantic patch
{\tt
33 foo.cocci
} to the file
{\tt foo.c
} and print out any transformations as a
35 \item {\tt spatch -sp
\_file foo.cocci foo.c -debug
}: The same as the
36 previous case, but print out some information about the matching process.
37 \item {\tt spatch -sp
\_file foo.cocci -dir foodir
}: Apply the semantic
38 patch
{\tt foo.cocci
} to all of the C files in the directory
{\tt foodir
}.
39 \item {\tt spatch -sp
\_file foo.cocci -dir foodir -include
\_headers}: Apply
40 the semantic patch
{\tt foo.cocci
} to all of the C files and header files
41 in the directory
{\tt foodir
}.
44 In the rest of this
document, the options are annotated as follows:
46 \item \FilledBigDiamondshape: a basic option, that is most likely of
47 interest to all users.
48 \item \BigLowerDiamond: an option that is frequently used, often for better
49 understanding the effect of a semantic patch.
50 \item \BigDiamondshape: an option that is likely to be rarely used, but
51 whose effect is still comprehensible to a user.
52 \item An option with no annotation is likely of interest only to
56 \section{Selecting and parsing the semantic patch
}
58 \subsection{Standalone options
}
60 \normal{-parse
\_cocci $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{ Parse a semantic
61 patch file and print out some information about it.
}
63 \subsection{The semantic patch
}
65 \minimum{-sp
\_file $
\langle$file$
\rangle$, -c $
\langle$file$
\rangle$,
66 -cocci
\_file $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{ Specify the name of the file
67 containing the semantic patch. The file name should end in
{\tt .cocci
}.
68 All three options do the same thing; the last two are deprecated.
}
70 \subsection{Isomorphisms
}
72 \rare{-iso, -iso
\_file}{ Specify a file containing isomorphisms to be used in
73 place of the standard one. Normally one should use the
{\tt using
}
74 construct within a semantic patch to specify isomorphisms to be used
{\em
75 in addition to
} the standard ones.
}
77 \rare{-iso
\_limit $
\langle$int$
\rangle$
} Limit the depth of application of
78 isomorphisms to the specified integer.
80 \rare{-no
\_iso\_limit} Put no limit on the number of times that
81 isomorphisms can be applied. This is the default.
83 \rare{-disable
\_iso}{Disable a specific isomorphism from the command line.
84 This option can be specified multiple times.
}
86 \developer{-track
\_iso}{ Gather information about isomorphism usage.
}
88 \developer{-profile
\_iso}{ Gather information about the time required for
89 isomorphism expansion.
}
91 \subsection{Display options
}
93 \rare{-show
\_cocci}{Show the semantic patch that is being processed before
94 expanding isomorphisms.
}
96 \rare{-show
\_SP}{Show the semantic patch that is being processed after
97 expanding isomorphisms.
}
99 \rare{-show
\_ctl\_text}{ Show the representation
100 of the semantic patch in CTL.
}
102 \rare{-ctl
\_inline\_let}{ Sometimes
{\tt let
} is used to name
103 intermediate terms CTL representation. This option causes the let-bound
104 terms to be inlined at the point of their reference.
105 This option implicitly sets
{\bf -show
\_ctl\_text}.
}
107 \rare{-ctl
\_show\_mcodekind}{ Show
108 transformation information within the CTL representation
109 of the semantic patch. This option implicitly sets
{\bf -show
\_ctl\_text}.
}
111 \rare{-show
\_ctl\_tex}{ Create a LaTeX files showing the representation
112 of the semantic patch in CTL.
}
114 \section{Selecting and parsing the C files
}
116 \subsection{Standalone options
}
118 \normal{-parse
\_c $
\langle$file/dir$
\rangle$
}{ Parse a
{\tt .c
} file or all
119 of the
{\tt .c
} files in a directory. This generates information about
120 any parse errors encountered.
}
122 \normal{-parse
\_h $
\langle$file/dir$
\rangle$
}{ Parse a
{\tt .h
} file or all
123 of the
{\tt .h
} files in a directory. This generates information about
124 any parse errors encountered.
}
126 \normal{-parse
\_ch $
\langle$file/dir$
\rangle$
}{ Parse a
{\tt .c
} or
{\tt
127 .h
} file or all of the
{\tt .c
} or
{\tt .h
} files in a directory. This
128 generates information about any parse errors encountered.
}
130 \normal{-control
\_flow $
\langle$file$
\rangle$, -control
\_flow
131 $
\langle$file$
\rangle$:$
\langle$function$
\rangle$
}{ Print a control-flow
132 graph for all of the functions in a file or for a specific function in a
133 file. This requires
{\tt dot
} (http://www.graphviz.org/) and
{\tt gv
}.
}
135 \rare{-type
\_c $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{ Parse a C file and pretty-print a
136 version including type information.
}
138 \developer{-tokens
\_c $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{Prints the tokens in a C
141 \developer{-parse
\_unparse $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{Parse and then reconstruct
144 \developer{-compare
\_c $
\langle$file$
\rangle$ $
\langle$file$
\rangle$,
145 -compare
\_c\_hardcoded}{Compares one C file to another, or compare the
146 file tests/compare1.c to the file tests/compare2.c.
}
148 \developer{-test
\_cfg\_ifdef $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{Do some special
149 processing of \#ifdef and display the resulting control-flow graph. This
150 requires
{\tt dot
} and
{\tt gv
}.
}
152 \developer{-test
\_attributes $
\langle$file$
\rangle$,
153 -test
\_cpp $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{
154 Test the parsing of cpp code and attributes, respectively.
}
156 \subsection{Selecting C files
}
158 An argument that ends in
{\tt .c
} is assumed to be a C file to process.
159 Normally, only one C file or one directory is specified. If multiple C
160 files are specified, they are treated in parallel,
{\em i.e.
}, the first
161 semantic patch rule is applied to all functions in all files, then the
162 second semantic patch rule is applied to all functions in all files, etc.
163 If a directory is specified then no files may be specified and only the
164 rightmost directory specified is used.
166 \normal{-include
\_headers}{ This option causes header files to be processed
167 independently. This option only makes sense if a directory is specified
170 \normal{-use
\_glimpse}{ Use a glimpse index to select the files to which
171 a semantic patch may be relevant. This option requires that a directory is
172 specified. The index may be created using the script
{\tt
173 coccinelle/scripts/ glimpseindex
\_cocci.sh
}. Glimpse is available at
174 http://webglimpse.net/. In conjunction with the option
{\bf -patch
\_cocci}
175 this option prints the regular expression that will be passed to glimpse.
}
177 \rare{-dir
}{ Specify a directory containing C files to process. A trailing
178 {\tt /
} is permitted on the directory name and has no impact on the
179 result. By default, the include path will be set to the ``include''
180 subdirectory of this directory. A different include path can be
181 specified using the option
{\bf -I
}.
{\bf -dir
} only considers the
182 rightmost directory in the argument list. This behavior is convenient
183 for creating a script that always works on a single directory, but allows
184 the user of the script to override the provided directory with another
185 one. Spatch collects the files in the directory using
{\tt find
} and
186 does not follow symbolic links.
}
188 \developer{-kbuild
\_info $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{ The specified file
189 contains information about which sets of files should be considered in
192 \developer{-disable
\_worth\_trying\_opt}{Normally, a C file is only
193 processed if it contains some keywords that have been determined to be
194 essential for the semantic patch to match somewhere in the file. This
195 option disables this optimization and tries the semantic patch on all files.
}
197 \developer{-test $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{ A shortcut for running Coccinelle
198 on the semantic patch ``file
{\tt{.cocci
}}'' and the C file ``file
{\tt{.c
}}''.
}
200 \developer{-testall
}{A shortcut for running Coccinelle on all files in a
201 subdirectory
{\tt tests
} such that there are all of a
{\tt .cocci
} file, a
{\tt
202 .c
} file, and a
{\tt .res
} file, where the
{\tt .res
} contains the
205 \developer{-test
\_okfailed, -test
\_regression\_okfailed} Other options for
206 keeping track of tests that have succeeded and failed.
208 \developer{-compare
\_with\_expected}{Compare the result of applying
209 Coccinelle to file
{\tt{.c
}} to the file file
{\tt{.res
}} representing the
212 \developer{-expected
\_score\_file $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{
213 which score file to compare with in the testall run
}
215 \subsection{Parsing C files
}
217 \rare{-show
\_c}{Show the C code that is being processed.
}
219 \rare{-parse
\_error\_msg}{Show parsing errors in the C file.
}
221 \rare{-verbose
\_parsing}{Show parsing errors in the C file, as well as
222 information about attempts to accomodate such errors. This implicitly
223 sets -parse
\_error\_msg.
}
225 \rare{-type
\_error\_msg}{Show information about where the C type checker
226 was not able to determine the type of an expression.
}
228 \rare{-int
\_bits $
\langle$n$
\rangle$, -long
\_bits
229 $
\langle$n$
\rangle$
}{Provide integer size information. n is the number of
230 bits in an unsigned integer or unsigned long, respectively. If only the
231 option
{\bf -int
\_bits} is used, unsigned longs will be assumed to have
232 twice as many bits as unsigned integers. If only the option
{\bf
233 -long
\_bits} is used, unsigned ints will be assumed to have half as many
234 bits as unsigned integers. This information is only used in determining
235 the types of integer constants, according to the ANSI C standard (C89). If
236 neither is provided, the type of an integer constant is determined by the
237 sequence of ``u'' and ``l'' annotations following the constant. If there
238 is none, the constant is assumed to be a signed integer. If there is only
239 ``u'', the constant is assumed to be an unsigned integer, etc.
}
241 \rare{-no
\_loops}{Drop back edges for loops. This may make a semantic
242 patch/match run faster, at the cost of not finding matches that wrap
245 \developer{-use
\_cache} Use preparsed versions of the C files that are
248 \developer{-debug
\_cpp, -debug
\_lexer, -debug
\_etdt,
249 -debug
\_typedef}{Various options for debugging the C parser.
}
251 \developer{-filter
\_msg, -filter
\_define\_error,
252 -filter
\_passed\_level}{Various options for debugging the C parser.
}
254 \developer{-only
\_return\_is\_error\_exit}{In matching ``
{\tt{\ldots}}'' in
255 a semantic patch or when forall is specified, a rule must match all
256 control-flow paths starting from a node matching the beginning of the
257 rule. This is relaxed, however, for error handling code. Normally, error
258 handling code is considered to be a conditional with only a then branch
259 that ends in goto, break, continue, or return. If this option is set,
260 then only a then branch ending in a return is considered to be error
261 handling code. Usually a better strategy is to use
{\tt when strict
} in
262 the semantic patch, and then match explicitly the case where there is a
263 conditional whose then branch ends in a return.
}
265 \subsubsection*
{Macros and other preprocessor code
}
267 \normal{-macro
\_file $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{
268 Extra macro definitions to be taken into account when parsing the C
269 files. This uses the provided macro definitions in addition to those in
270 the default macro file.
}
272 \normal{-macro
\_file\_builtins $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{
273 Builtin macro definitions to be taken into account when parsing the C
274 files. This causes the macro definitions provided in the default macro
275 file to be ignored and the ones in the specified file to be used instead.
}
277 \rare{-ifdef
\_to\_if,-no
\_ifdef\_to\_if}{
278 The option
{\bf -ifdef
\_to\_if}
279 represents an
{\tt \#ifdef
} in the source code as a conditional in the
280 control-flow graph when doing so represents valid code.
{\bf
281 -no
\_ifdef\_to\_if} disables this feature.
{\bf -ifdef
\_to\_if} is the
285 \rare{-use
\_if0\_code}{ Normally code under \#if
0 is ignored. If this
286 option is set then the code is considered, just like the code under any
289 \developer{-noadd
\_typedef\_root}{This seems to reduce the scope of a
290 typedef declaration found in the C code.
}
292 \subsubsection*
{Include files
}
294 \normal{-all
\_includes, -local
\_includes, -no
\_includes}{
295 These options control which include files mentioned in a C file are taken into
296 account.
{\bf -all
\_includes} indicates that all included files will be
297 processed.
{\bf -local
\_includes} indicates that only included files in
298 the current directory will be processed.
{\bf -no
\_includes} indicates
299 that no included files will be processed. If the semantic patch contains
300 type specifications on expression metavariables, then the default is
{\bf
301 -local
\_includes}. Otherwise the default is
{\bf -no
\_includes}. At most
302 one of these options can be specified.
}
304 \normal{-I $
\langle$path$
\rangle$
}{ This option specifies a directory
305 in which to find non-local include files. This option can be used
308 \rare{-relax
\_include\_path}{This option when combined with -all
\_includes
309 causes the search for local
310 include files to consider the current directory, even if the include
311 patch specifies a subdirectory. This is really only useful for testing,
312 eg with the option
{\bf -testall
}}
314 \section{Application of the semantic patch to the C code
}
316 \subsection{Feedback at the rule level during the application of the
319 \normal{-show
\_bindings}{
320 Show the environments with respect to which each rule is applied and the
321 bindings that result from each such application.
}
323 \normal{-show
\_dependencies}{ Show the status (matched or unmatched) of the
324 rules on which a given rule depends.
{\bf -show
\_dependencies} implicitly
325 sets
{\bf -show
\_bindings}, as the values of the dependencies are
326 environment-specific.
}
328 \normal{-show
\_trying}{
329 Show the name of each program element to which each rule is applied.
}
331 \normal{-show
\_transinfo}{
332 Show information about each transformation that is performed.
333 The node numbers that are referenced are the number of the nodes in the
334 control-flow graph, which can be seen using the option
{\bf -control
\_flow}
335 (the initial control-flow graph only) or the option
{\bf -show
\_flow} (the
336 control-flow graph before and after each rule application).
}
338 \normal{-show
\_misc}{Show some miscellaneous information.
}
340 \rare{-show
\_flow $
\langle$file$
\rangle$, -show
\_flow
341 $
\langle$file$
\rangle$:$
\langle$function$
\rangle$
} Show the control-flow
342 graph before and after the application of each rule.
344 \developer{-show
\_before\_fixed\_flow}{This is similar to
{\bf
345 -show
\_flow}, but shows a preliminary version of the control-flow graph.
}
347 \subsection{Feedback at the CTL level during the application of the
350 \normal{-verbose
\_engine}{Show a trace of the matching of atomic terms to C
353 \rare{-verbose
\_ctl\_engine}{Show a trace of the CTL matching process.
354 This is unfortunately rather voluminous and not so helpful for someone
355 who is not familiar with CTL in general and the translation of SmPL into
356 CTL specifically. This option implicitly sets the option
{\bf
359 \rare{-graphical
\_trace}{Create a pdf file containing the control flow
360 graph annotated with the various nodes matched during the CTL matching
361 process. Unfortunately, except for the most simple examples, the output
362 is voluminous, and so the option is not really practical for most
363 examples. This requires
{\tt dot
} (http://www.graphviz.org/) and
{\tt
366 \rare{-gt
\_without\_label}{The same as
{\bf -graphical
\_trace}, but the PDF
367 file does not contain the CTL code.
}
369 \rare{-partial
\_match}{
370 Report partial matches of the semantic patch on the C file. This can
371 be substantially slower than normal matching.
}
373 \rare{-verbose
\_match}{
374 Report on when CTL matching is not applied to a function or other program
375 unit because it does not contain some required atomic pattern.
376 This can be viewed as a simpler, more efficient, but less informative
377 version of
{\bf -partial
\_match}.
}
379 \subsection{Actions during the application of the semantic patch
}
381 \normal{-D rulename
}{Run the patch considering that the virtual rule
382 ``rulename'' is satisfied. Virtual rules should be declared at the
383 beginning of the semantic patch in a comma separated list following the
384 keyword virtual. Other rules can depend on the satisfaction or non
385 satifaction of these rules using the keyword
{\tt depends on
} in the
388 \normal{-D variable=value
}{Run the patch considering that the virtual
389 identifier metavariable ``variable'' is bound to ``value''. Any
390 identifier metavariable can be designated as being virtual by giving it
391 the rule name
{\tt virtual
}. An example is in demos/vm.coci
}
393 \rare{-allow
\_inconsistent\_paths}{Normally, a term that is transformed
394 should only be accessible from other terms that are matched by the
395 semantic patch. This option removes this constraint. Doing so, is
396 unsafe, however, because the properties that hold along the matched path
397 might not hold at all along the unmatched path.
}
399 \rare{-disallow
\_nested\_exps}{In an expression that contains repeated
400 nested subterms,
{\em e.g.
} of the form
{\tt f(f(x))
}, a pattern can
401 match a single expression in multiple ways, some nested inside others.
402 This option causes the matching process to stop immediately at the
403 outermost match. Thus, in the example
{\tt f(f(x))
}, the possibility
404 that the pattern
{\tt f(E)
}, with metavariable
{\tt E
}, matches with
{\tt
405 E
} as
{\tt x
} will not be considered.
}
407 \rare{-no
\_safe\_expressions}{normally, we check that an expression does
408 not match something earlier in the disjunction. But for large
409 disjunctions, this can result in a very big CTL formula. So this
410 option give the user the option to say he doesn't want this feature,
411 if that is the case.
}
413 \rare{-pyoutput coccilib.output.Gtk, -pyoutput coccilib.output.Console
}{
414 This controls whether Python output is sent to Gtk or to the console.
{\bf
415 -pyoutput coccilib.output.Console
} is the default. The Gtk option is
416 currently not well supported.
}
418 \developer{-loop
}{When there is ``
{\tt{\ldots}}'' in the semantic patch,
419 the CTL operator
{\sf AU
} is used if the current function does not
420 contain a loop, and
{\sf AW
} may be used if it does. This option causes
421 {\sf AW
} always to be used.
}
423 \developer{-steps $
\langle$int$
\rangle$
}{
424 This limits the number of steps performed by the CTL engine to the
425 specified number. This option is unsafe as it might cause a rule to fail
426 due to running out of steps rather than due to not matching.
}
428 \developer{-bench $
\langle$int$
\rangle$
}{This collects various information
429 about the operations performed during the CTL matching process.
}
431 \developer{-popl, -popl
\_mark\_all, -popl
\_keep\_all\_wits}{
432 These options use a simplified version of the SmPL language.
{\bf
433 -popl
\_mark\_all} and
{\bf -popl
\_keep\_all\_wits} implicitly set
{\bf
436 \section{Generation of the result
}
438 Normally, the only output is a diff printed to standard output.
440 \normal{-keep
\_comments}{Don't remove comments adjacent to removed code.
}
442 \normal{-linux
\_spacing, -smpl
\_spacing}{Control the spacing within the code
443 added by the semantic patch. The option
{\bf -linux
\_spacing} causes
444 spatch to follow the conventions of Linux, regardless of the spacing in
445 the semantic patch. This is the default. The option
{\bf
446 -smpl
\_spacing} causes spatch to follow the spacing given in the semantic
447 patch, within individual lines.
}
449 \rare{-o $
\langle$file$
\rangle$
}{ The output file.
}
451 \rare{-in
\_place}{ Modify the input file. By default, the input file is
452 overwritten, with no backup.
}
454 \rare{-backup
\_suffix}{The suffix of the file to use in making a backup of
455 the original file(s). This suffix should include the leading ``.'', if
456 one is desired. This option only has an effect when the option
457 {\tt -in
\_place} is also used.
}
459 \rare{-out
\_place}{ Store modifications in a .cocci
\_res file.
}
461 \rare{-no
\_show\_diff}{ Normally, a diff between the original and transformed
462 code is printed on the standard output. This option causes this not to be
465 \rare{-U
}{ Set number of diff context lines.
}
467 \rare{-patch $
\langle$path$
\rangle$
}{The prefix of the pathname of the
468 directory or file name that should dropped from the diff line in the
469 generated patch. This is useful if you want to apply a patch only to a
470 subdirectory of a source code tree but want to create a patch that can be
471 applied at the root of the source code tree. An example could be
{\tt
472 spatch -sp
\_file foo.cocci -dir /var/linuxes/linux-next/drivers -patch
473 /var/linuxes/linux-next
}. A trailing
{\tt /
} is permitted on the
474 directory name and has no impact on the result.
}
476 \rare{-save
\_tmp\_files}{Coccinelle creates some temporary
477 files in
{\tt /tmp
} that it deletes after use. This option causes these
480 \developer{-debug
\_unparsing}{Show some debugging information about the
481 generation of the transformed code. This has the side-effect of
482 deleting the transformed code.
}
485 \section{Other options
}
487 \subsection{Version information
}
489 \normal{-version
}{ The version of Coccinelle. No other options are
492 \normal{-date
}{ The date of the current version of Coccinelle. No other
493 options are allowed.
}
497 \minimum{-h, -shorthelp
}{ The most useful commands.
}
499 \minimum{-help, --help, -longhelp
}{ A complete listing of the available
502 \subsection{Controlling the execution of Coccinelle
}
504 \normal{-timeout $
\langle$int$
\rangle$
}{ The maximum time in seconds for
505 processing a single file.
}
507 \rare{-max $
\langle$int$
\rangle$
}{This option informs Coccinelle of the
508 number of instances of Coccinelle that will be run concurrently. This
509 option requires
{\bf -index
}. It is usually used with
{\bf -dir
}.
}
511 \rare{-index $
\langle$int$
\rangle$
}{This option informs Coccinelle of
512 which of the concurrent instances is the current one. This option
513 requires
{\bf -max
}.
}
515 \rare{-mod
\_distrib}{When multiple instances of Coccinelle are run in
516 parallel, normally the first instance processes the first $n$ files, the
517 second instance the second $n$ files, etc. With this option, the files
518 are distributed among the instances in a round-robin fashion.
}
520 \developer{-debugger
}{Option for running Coccinelle from within the OCaml
523 \developer{-profile
}{ Gather timing information about the main Coccinelle
526 \developer{-disable
\_once}{Print various warning messages every time some
527 condition occurs, rather than only once.
}
529 \subsection{Miscellaneous
}
531 \rare{-quiet
}{Suppress most output. This is the default.
}
533 \developer{-pad, -hrule $
\langle$dir$
\rangle$, -xxx, -l1
}{}
538 %%% TeX-master: "main_options"
541 %%% ispell-local-dictionary: "american"